


Garland Moon

by samariumwriting



Series: Dimidue Week [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dimidue Week (Fire Emblem), Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Flower Crowns, Flowers, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, No Spoilers, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 14:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20437454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: "Before the heavy rains take their toll, young people hurry to pick the last of the white roses. The ivory buds are woven into garlands and given as gifts to close friends or potential lovers."-The rainy season has arrived, and for Dedue, there's no time better than the present for a show of affection.





	Garland Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Dimidue week prompt holiday festivities, based on the Garland Moon intro sequence.

It was the rainy season, and Dedue knew exactly what that meant in the customs of Fódlan. Even in the centre of Fhirdiad, people liked to grow things in the tiny patches of land still available. In the wake of the Dukedom, the fondness for seeing beautiful plants hadn’t decreased, and they were everywhere.

Which meant, now that the Garland Moon had arrived, that everyone would be scrambling to gather a handful of the white roses which wouldn’t last much longer in their current state. It was an interesting time of year, one he’d seen in Fódlan a handful of times, and it always got him thinking.

The flower picking was traditionally done by young women, and the woven garlands traditionally given to their male lovers. Some tacked ‘close friends’ onto the end, but Dedue had never quite been able to fathom if that was a coverup for women giving flowers to each other or to back out if the romantic feelings were not shared.

That was where the problem was. He couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the holiday of sorts, and as such he felt uncomfortable participating. If he gave Dimitri a garland and he misunderstood the meaning of the action, then he’d be mortified.

But he still...every time Dedue saw a white rose, he was reminded of the practise, and of his desire to better express his devotion to Dimitri. It was a simple gesture, almost banal, but communication had never been his strongest point. Words never came easily to him, especially not when he was talking to the person in the world who mattered the most.

The number of roses he saw on a daily basis started to dwindle, as he saw ever more braided into the hair of passers by. Couples walking arm in arm, flowers in their hair, smiles on their faces. Perhaps he and Dimitri would never quite match a scene like that, but the idea was...nice.

So it was on a particularly rainy day on his way back from the market that Dedue just decided to pick some from a park on a whim. Most of the remaining flowers were looking a little worse for wear now they’d passed their prime, but the smaller buds in particular were still beautiful, if only in a less flashy way than the flowers that were already gone.

He picked a few, tucked them into his basket on top of the covering, underneath which were several books. Reading was something Dimitri rarely indulged in but when they did find the time to read together they both preferred something a little lighter than the dense tomes found in the library. He could decide what to do with them later, if anything.

When he got back up to the castle he had things to do that didn’t involve indulging a romantic fantasy, yet while he worked he couldn’t get the sight of the blooms out of his mind. He had some twine with which to weave them together, and he kept imagining the sight of them against Dimitri’s hair. It was distracting.

Neither he nor Dimitri had much of a spare moment until the evening, at which point Dedue found himself hesitating outside Dimitri’s quarters. It was late, and it might be better just to leave him to sleep. They didn’t always spend late nights together, of course, and he knew that there was much work to be done that Dimitri really just needed rest to do.

He found himself tempted to just throw the flowers out and leave the festivities for another year. They were close, of course, but he always worried about overstepping boundaries that Dimitri denied existed. It was not that he thought the other man was lying, of course, but his kind heart knew no bounds. Dedue did not want to exploit that.

Eventually, though, after several minutes of standing outside Dimitri’s rooms, he knocked on the door. A pause for a few moments, perhaps as Dimitri decided whether he was too tired for visitors. “Who’s there?” came the call. Tired, but only too tired for business. A friend would be okay.

“Dedue, your Majesty,” he said.

“Ah, Dedue!” The lightness in his tone made Dedue flush a little. “Come in, please.”

From when he closed the door to Dimitri’s room, there was a slightly awkward silence. This happened every time they spent time in private together, and Dedue never quite knew how to break it. He’d spent so long viewing Dimitri as his superior that even now, nearly a year after the war, closing that distance was difficult.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?” Dimitri asked, that same soft smile on his face as always. He was dressed comfortably, half ready for bed, and Dedue felt like he might be delaying his sleep by being there. He was almost ready to excuse himself, but Dimitri wouldn’t want that. Every time they’d been together since, well, for as long as they’d known each other, Dimitri always emphasised that his presence was a pleasure. He could stay.

“Forgive my...forwardness,” he said. That was probably the right word for this. “But as I was walking back from the marketplace today, I picked some white roses.”

Dimitri’s face took on an expression that, for a moment, Dedue couldn’t make sense of. A small, wry smile, with a hint of sadness. “I see,” he said. “Dedue, you do not need to come to me to ask if you can engage in- never mind.” He looked a bit flustered. “May I...ask who the lucky woman is? The one who is to receive your affection.”

Dedue didn’t know whether to laugh or not, knowing that Dimitri didn’t understand why he’d come to him. Or why he thought there’d be anyone else. Their relationship had never been explicitly romantic, but Dedue had always thought it held all the characteristics of one. “My intention was to give them to you, Dimitri,” he said.

“I-oh!” Dedue could feel the blush rising to his face when he saw the range of emotions flashing across Dimitri’s face. Surprise, happiness, embarrassment. “I feel like quite the fool now,” he admitted, pulling a sheepish face as his cheeks flushed red.

“Never,” he said, lifting the now-assembled garland out of his bag. “The flowers are a little small and not at their best, but I left it too late. I’m sorry.”

“There is absolutely no need to apologise,” Dimitri replied. He hadn’t reached for the garland yet, but Dedue could see his eye fixed on it. “If anything, I should be the one apologising. I should have made one for you as well.”

“You didn’t need to at all,” he said firmly, lifting the garland onto Dimitri’s head. When he smiled, Dimitri looked like he was glowing. Dedue felt a sort of tightness in his chest just seeing him smiling, so at ease, so happy. Maybe this had been a long time coming. “Perfect,” he mumbled. There was no point even attempting to hide his embarrassment at this point.

“Thank you, Dedue,” Dimitri said, his eye full of happiness. “But if this is a gift for me…” He smiled and removed the garland from his hair before neatly depositing it on Dedue’s head. “That means I can give it to you.”

“I think it’s meant to be rude to give a gift you’ve received to someone else,” he said with a chuckle, but Dimitri kept smiling and he smiled back at him. That was...easy. Effortless, even. He should have done it months ago.

“I can’t bring myself to care about that kind of code of manners,” he said. “Not when the opportunity was right in front of me. You look rather dashing in that crown, I must say.” He paused, and a comfortable silence stretched between them. There was nothing more either of them needed to say, but Dedue reached for Dimitri’s hand anyway. It was warm.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :) if you have any thoughts, please leave a comment, I enjoy reading any and all feedback.


End file.
